empty smith: July 2009

A few weeks ago Fiance told me that he had submitted an application for us to take a ride on a Navy destroyer. If selected we would get to take a 3-5 hour cruise that would take place during Fleet Week which is the kick off of Seafair weekend and is a pretty big deal up here. Much to Fiance's excitement we were selected and would be riding on the USS Momsen.

History Lesson I:

The USS Momsen is the twenty-sixth destroyer of the Arleigh Burke class and is named for Vice Admiral Charles B. Momsen. The USS Momsen's keel was laid on 16 November 2001 and was launched on 19 July 2003. The Momsen was commissioned on 28 August 2004. As of 2009, the Momsen is serving in the Pacific Fleet, home ported in NAVSTA Everett, Washington, and assigned to Destroyer Squadron 9. The construction of the Momsen from initial steel cutting to sea trials, was documented in the Discovery Channel television special Destroyer: Forged in Steel. The destroyers were not referenced by name, but their numbers were visible on their prows.

So for the past week we have been experiencing record breaking heat for these parts. On the day of our little cruise temps were to reach an all time high of 102. When I say all time high I mean hottest day on record for Seattle. EVER. And even though we were going to be standing on a mammoth steal deck; I could not imagine a better place to be than out on the water of Elliot Bay in the Puget Sound. (Actually any place was better than our A/C free apt which has been a toasty 95 degrees inside until about midnight where it dropped to 85. All of you that told me that you don't need A/C up here can suck it! LIARS!!!) So after a lot (A LOT!) of hurry up and wait we boarded the ship and were under way. One knows that these vessels are huge but you don't really get a sense of it until you get up close and personal. The coolest part of the cruise (other than the breeze) was that the ship was about 85% open for you to wander around and explorer. The first time we went below deck it was a little confusing with all the stairs and hallways that lead to locked doors. After a bit you get the lay of the ship and how to make your way around.

(last picture I got before crushing the LCD screen on my camera)

Lunch was also served on our boat trip. I was thinking it was going to be a simple box lunch. But when the Navy has a BBQ they go all out. As we stood in the very long lunch line we saw people walking away with heaping plates of cheese burgers, bbq chicken, hot dogs, potato salad, chips, and rice crispy treats. I was starving and for every plate that went by my mouth watered a little bit more. Every now and again the Master Chief would come and grab a group of about 10 passengers behind us and take them down to the galley to help move the back of the line along. He did this until the 50 or so people behind us were gone and Fiance and I made up the back of the line. About 5 minutes later he came back and asked if if we would like to follow him and have lunch in the Wardroom. Fiance's eyes just about popped out of his head.

History Lesson II:

The wardroom is the mess-cabin of naval commissioned officers above the rank of sub-lieutenant. The term the wardroom is also used to refer to those individuals with the right to occupy that wardroom, meaning "the officers of the wardroom". Since 1948, ward-rooms have been used by warrant officers as well as commissioned officers. It provides a place of recreation as well as being a dining room. Usually, a galley or scullery adjoins the wardroom. Service is provided by stewards. Wardrooms have rules governing etiquette. Traditionally considered taboo are three topics: politics, religion, and sex (earlier guidebooks referred to the latter as ladies). On large ships in peacetime, talking about professional business is frowned upon. It is also considered inappropriate to perform work or to meet with subordinates in a wardroom.

So instead of eating our lunches off of a paper plate on our laps on the flight deck we ate out lunches seated at a table eating our made to order lunch off of china in the air conditioned wardroom with the officers.

(Sailors Manning the Rails)

History Lesson III:

Manning the rail is a method of saluting or rendering honors used by naval vessels. The custom evolved from that of manning the yards, which dates from the days of sail. On sailing ships, men stood evenly spaced on all the yards (the spars holding the sails) and gave three cheers to honor distinguished persons. Today the crew are stationed along the rails and superstructure of a ship when honors are rendered. The United States Navy prescribes manning the rail as a possible honor to render to the President of the United States and for rulers of foreign nations. A similar but less formal ceremony is to have the crew "at quarters" when the ship is entering or leaving port. Manning the rail is also the traditional way to honor the USS Arizona Memorial when it is passed by U.S. ships.

The only down fall was when I smashed the LCD screen on my camera while coming down a steep ladder. It still takes photos, you just can't see what it is your are taking a photo of. Good times! Over all we had a great time out on the water. the crew was extremely accommodating to the 200 extra people they had aboard for the work day. Now I think Fiance needs to work on getting us on an aircraft carrier...Tiger Cruise anyone?